Crawley named fifth best place to be an apprentice in England, new analysis finds

Crawley is the fifth best place to be an apprentice in England, according to new research by tech startup Multiverse.

Multiverse’s ‘Top 20 Towns & Cities to be an Apprentice’ ranks areas using criteria from government and ONS data including the number of apprentices per business, growth in the number of new apprentices, the area's employment rate, growth of businesses, and how affordable renting is across the towns and cities.

Crawley came in joint fifth place, ranking highly for the number of apprenticeship starts, where there has been an overall increase of over 8% since 2019. The South Eastern town also boasts a very high employment rate (68%), the fifteenth highest in the country, boosting the area’s attractiveness for an apprentice looking to start their career.

Data also shows that Crawley has an apprentice to business ratio of 22 apprentices per 100 firms. These factors have led Crawley to secure its spot as the fifth most vibrant place to do an apprenticeship in the country.

The analysis has found that Crawley is the top ranked town or city in the South East, with only three others in the region placing in the Top 20. Dartford (10th), Dover (12th) and Southampton (16th) secured their spots on the list largely thanks to high rates of business growth and continued increase in apprenticeship starts since 2019.

A Multiverse spokesperson said: “Crawley is a fantastic place to do an apprenticeship - and it is great to celebrate the town’s success this National Apprenticeship Week. From strong numbers of apprentices compared to the number of companies in the town to growing numbers of businesses, being an apprentice here means having a strong start to your career.”

Euan Blair, CEO at Multiverse, said: “Apprenticeships are an incredible vehicle for social mobility across the UK - and at Multiverse we’re proud to have apprentices in every corner of the country. Access to our apprenticeships has been unlocked by the use of tech to scale our offering nationwide and has allowed us to reach often overlooked areas.

"The spread of opportunities supports our belief in the ability for apprenticeships to be the tool that enables equitable access to economic opportunity, for everyone.”